outreach

outreach

The Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) at Penn State is celebrating 50 years of helping businesses across the commonwealth become more competitive and sustainable. PennTAP has provided no-cost technical assistance and energy saving programs to businesses in Pennsylvania’s 67 counties since 1965. This federal-state-university partnership was originally one of the first of its kind in the nation. Legislators, PennTAP clients and staff will celebrate the milestone at a reception on June 2 at The Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg.

The first class from Penn State’s online master of science in nursing degree will graduate May 10. “These are very high-quality students who want to be in jobs that will help train a new generation of nurses,” said Lisa Kitko, an assistant professor of nursing at Penn State. “That really speaks to their commitment to the profession and to nursing.”

When Derek Polay was a young boy he would search his neighborhood looking for wild chives, wild garlic and just about anything he could find to experiment with in recipes. According to his mother, Kristin Cox, Derek was always a foodie and always cooking for his family. But it wasn’t until he, as a 10-year-old, had a serendipitous meeting with Penn State’s Cook Like a Chef camp director, Anne Quinn Corr, that he realized how he could turn his passion for cooking into a legitimate career.

Khanjan Mehta, director of the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship program and assistant professor of engineering design, has published a book titled "The Kochia Chronicles: Systemic Challenges and the Foundations of Social Innovation."

Penn State’s World Campus is extending its military-grant-in-aid to military spouses, effective for the 2013–14 academic year. The grant reduces tuition costs by 39 to 44 percent for students enrolled in undergraduate programs delivered online through the World Campus.

A cooking feature, copper charm and British gun flint were among the discoveries students made this summer at Fort Shirley in Huntingdon County during Penn State’s Archaeological Field School, which prepares students for graduate-school levels of technical knowledge and skills needed to operate at an archeological site.

When Sherrita Dobson arrives at Penn State for commencement, she will not only be fulfilling a goal two years delayed, but also making her first visit to campus. She completed her criminal justice degree in 2011 through the World Campus, but because of her Army duties wasn't able to attend commencement. Dobson will pick up her diploma Aug. 10.

Health care is one of the fastest growing employment sectors, thanks to baby boomers and the 32 million who will become eligible for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act. These groups are driving demand for medical and health services managers. Penn State’s master of health administration (MHA) is helping to fill these jobs.

Designing land-based projects that are sustainable can be challenging with the numerous issues involved, including rising land costs, conservation factors and energy concerns. To prepare professionals to help lead complex sustainable design and planning projects, Penn State is launching a Graduate Certificate in Geodesign, delivered entirely online.

New this year, the School of Visual Arts Summer Art Camp (July 7 to 12) will teach high school students who are interested in the visual arts how to create a portfolio of their work. The camp’s theme, “Portfolio Processes,” underscores the goals of the program – to show campers how to create exciting artworks in different media and to develop a digital portfolio. The camp coincides with the 2013 Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.

The flexibility of online education is ideal for many adults who want to learn when and where it's convenient to them, and especially beneficial to active-duty military service members deployed in a war zone or where Internet access is limited. Since Penn State's World Campus launched 15 years ago, enrollment by active-duty military service members and veterans has grown steadily -- and more than 120 percent in the last four years.

For those interested in understanding human behavior, in learning how people relate to one another and about how to make a difference in their lives, Penn State’s new online bachelor of science in human development and family studies (HDFS) offers an excellent opportunity to prepare for a variety of rewarding careers. Offered by the Department of Human Development and Family Studies in the College of Health and Human Development, the HDFS program is delivered online through the World Campus.